Device for transferring folding boxes to the conveyor of a packaging machine



Unite States Patent 1 [72] Inventor Wilhelm Schuster Karlsruhe. Germany [211 App]. No. 735,330

[22 Filed June 7,1968

[45] Patented Oct. 13, 1970 [73] Assignee Industrie-Werke Karlsruhe Aktiengesellschaft Karlsruhe, Germany a corporation of Germany [32] Priority June 9, 1967 [3 3 Germany [54] DEVICE FOR TRANSFERRING FOLDING BOXES TO THE CONVEYOR OF A PACKAGING MACHINE 6 Claims, 2 Drawing Figs.

[52] US. Cl 93/53 [51] Int. Cl B3lb 1/76 50] Field of seam-h 93/53, 53(PSD) [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,864,288 l2/l958 Engleson et al 93 53 Primary ExaminerH. A. Kilby, .lr. Attorney-Singer, Stern and Carlberg ABSTRACT: From an inclined magazine containing preopened folding boxes a suction device removes the lowermost folding box and conveys it to a receiving pocket formed between two levers pivotally mounted about Spaced upper and lower axes and operated in such a manner that the levers engage the front and rear wall of the folding box and transfer the latter by means of a slightly inclined guide plate which engages the bottom of the folding box into a pocket formed between two projections on a horizontally movable conveyor.

Patented Oct. 13, 1970 Sheet INVEN TOR.-

Patented Oct. 13, 1910 x 3533.334

Sheet L 032 INVENTOR:

DEVICE FOR TRANSFERRING FOLDING BOXES TO THE CONVEYOR OF A PACKAGING MACHINE The invention relates to a device for transferring folding boxes to the conveyor of a packaging machine, including a receiver for taking over the folding boxes which are supplied to it in a pre-opened condition by suction means. The receiver oscillates between a position in which it takes over the folding boxes from the suction means and a position in which the fold ing boxes are transferred to the conveyor.

A known device of this kind comprises two cam discs disposed in spaced relationship on a common shaft and holders for receiving the pre-opened folding boxes supplied to them by suction from a storage magazine in which the flat folding boxes are stacked, as well as a transfer bar arranged at the transfer station to the conveyor for lifting the folding boxes from out of the holders. in such devices the folding boxes are held at their rear edges by the holders and in their partly open condition in which they were delivered by suction are advanced to the transfer station where they are turned over to the receptacles of the conveyor.

Another known device consists of a slidable member which is provided with a receiver and is oscillatable along a straight line between a takeover station to which the pre-opened folding boxes are delivered by suction from a storage magazine and a transfer station immediately above the conveyor of a packaging machine, in which position the folding boxes are pushed from the receiver by a depressing means and are transferred to the pockets of the conveyor.

The known transfer devices are, on one hand, designed either for only one predetermined box size or are adjustable to other sizes only by an exchange of whole structural units, and on the other hand, are expensive and limited in performance.

Proceeding from the known art devices, the invention'has as its object a device for transferring folding boxes to the conveyor of a packaging machine, which device is characterized by a simple construction and high operative speed and safety and is so designed that without any exchange parts it may be easily and quickly converted to process various sizes and shapes of folding boxes within a wide range.

This is accomplished according to the invention in that the receiver comprises a receiving pocket formed by at least one pivot lever and adapted to receive the folding boxes with their side portions first outside the contact points of the pockets of the conveyor. The receiver is pivotable from its takeover position away from the conveying direction to its transfer position in the pocket of the conveyor.

ln this arrangement the transfer of a folding box from the receiver pocket to the pocket of the conveyor formed between projections in the latter is effected directly and without any great manipulations of the folding box as they are necessary in known devices. Thereby it is made possible that the device according to the invention is able to operate at a much higher speed than known devices.

For the purpose of improving the transfer of folding boxes from the receiving pocket of the transfer device to the pockets of the conveyor, there is provided a transfer guide bar extending at an angle from the takeover station to the pocket of the conveyor. This guide bar directs the top side of the folding box during the advancement of the receiving pocket from the takeover position to the transfer position and in the transfer position pushes the folding box into a pocket of the conveyor. There may further be provided a guide bar for supporting the bottom of the folding box and also extending between the takeover station and the transfer station. These two guide bars form together a guide channel having the height of a folding box and by a simple height adjustment of the top bar may be adapted, within certain limits, to different folding box dimensions.

Arranged at the transfer station to the conveyor may be a depressing means, known per se, and operating in phase with the pivotal movement of the receiving pocket. This depressing means pushes the folding box from the receiving pocket of the transfer device at the transfer station and into a pocket of the conveyor. Since due to the pivotal movement of the pocket of the transfer device into the region of the pockets of the conveyor only minor slidable movements of the depressor are necessary, the folding box will not be damaged as is frequently the case in known devices.

According to another feature of the invention, the lateral boundary forming an end wall of the receiving pocket of the transfer device may consist of a pivot lever arranged in spaced relationship to the guide bar and which pivots from the takeover position forming an obtuse angle with the guide bar through a angle into the transfer position forming an acute angle with the guide bar. The pivot lever, which engages one end wall of the folding box, may preferably be of such a length that on its pivotal movement to the transfer position it is pivoted out of the path of the folding box and slides off of the respective folding box side before the folding box is received by a pocket of the conveyor. As the pivot lever during the transport of the folding box from the takeover station to the transfer station slides off the end wall of the folding box, no impairment in the guidance of the folding box will occur since the latter is guided at least either with its bottom or with its top along a guide bar.

A further feature of the invention provides for a slide plate engaging the other end wall of the folding box. It forms the second boundary of the receiving pocket and is disposed opposite the first boundary at a distance which corresponds to the width of a folding box. In order to adjust the transfer device to different box sizes, the slide plate is adjustable in its distance from the pivot lever forming the first boundary of the receiving pocket.

According to another feature of the invention, the two end wall boundaries of the receiving pocket holding the folding boxes may be formed by two pivot levers, whereby one of these levers may act as a slide plate. The pivot levers may be hingedly attached to opposite sides of the guide bar. In order to ensure a satisfactory engagement of the slide plate with the respective end wall of the folding box, the slide plate is provided with at least two contact surfaces arranged at an obtuse angle to each other and a transition therebetween. The contact surfaces are so arranged that at least one of them in the transfer position is disposed approximately parallel to the contact surface of the other pivot lever engaging the opposite wall of the folding box.

In this embodiment of the invention where two pivot levers are used as end walls of the receiving pocket of the transfer device, it is particularly useful according to another feature of the invention to derive the drive for both of the pivot levers from the rocking arm ofa four-bar chain,

The transfer device according to the invention is not only simple in construction but also operates safely at a high speed. Furthermore, the folding edges of the folding boxes, which on their way from the storage magazine to the transfer device are caused to stand up, are folded over in that the end walls of the holder pocket during the pivotal movement from the takeover position into the transfer position shift from one parallelogram position into the opposite parallelogram position and thereby accordingly deform the folding box placed between these boundaries. This eliminates to a large extent the natural tension inherent in the folding edges so that the folding boxes arrive at the pockets of the conveyor completely folded and substantially tension-free.

The invention will be described in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates the transfer device in the takeover position, and

HO. 2 illustrates the transfer device in the transfer position.

Referring to FIG. 1, the device for transferring folding boxes 1 to a conveyor 2 ofa not illustrated packaging machine consists substantially of two pivot levers 5 and 6 forming together a receiving pocket for holding the open folding box 1 and of a transfer bar 7 and 5 guide bar 8. The transfer device is arranged between the delivery end 3 of a storage magazine 4 and the conveyor of the packagingmachine. The pivot levers 5, 6 are pivotally mounted about horizontal axes of rotation 9,

in spaced relationship from each other and from the guide bar 8. The pivot lever 6 which pivots about the axis of rotation 10 is rigidly connected with a rocking arm 11 of a four-bar chain which consists of a bar formed by the machine frame, a crank drive 13 rotatable about the horizontal axis of rotation 12 and a coupling link 16 pivotally connected at the axes 14, to the crank drive 13 and the rocking arm 11, respectively. The pivot lever 5 is in operative connection with the upper end ofa connecting rod 19 by means ofa rocking arm 17. The upper end of the connecting rod 19 is hingedly attached to the arm 17 at 18 and its lower end is attached at 20 to the arm 11 in the proximity of the axis of rotation 15. The receiving pocket formed by the two pivot levers 5, 6 oscillates periodically between the takeover position (FIG. 1) and the transfer position (FIG. 2) in conformity with the periodic oscillation of the rocking arm 11 of the four-bar chain.

The folding boxes stacked in their flat condition in the storage magazine 4 are removed from the storage magazine by means of a suction device 21 arranged on one end of a pivot lever 23 which with its other end is rotatable about a horizontal axis of rotation 22. The suction device 21 always seizes the lowermost folding box at the delivery end 3 of the stack and moves it into the receiving pocket formed by the two pivot levers 5, 6 as illustrated in FIG. I. The suction device 21 engages the bottom of the precreased and cemented folding box and moves the box with one side wall along a bar 24 arranged inclined with respect to the stack of boxes. Thereby the folding box is caused to open. The operation of the suction device 21 is synchronized with the operation of the pivot levers 5, 6 forming the receiving pocket in such a manner that a folding box is introduced into the receiving pocket in the takeover position as illustrated in FIG. 1. During the downward movement of the folding boxes along the guide bar 24 the boxes are caused to stand up so that the bottom of the boxes engages the guide bar 8 while the suction device continues to move downward. Thus the pre-opened folding box will be introduced into the receiving pocket formed by the two pivot levers 5, 6 and the same engage the side portions 25, 26 of the folding box,

After the folding boxes have been placed between the pivot levers 5, 6, the latter perform a pivotal movement and arrive at the transfer position illustrated in FIG. 2. Hereby the top of the folding box is engaged by the transfer bar 7 and the bottom of the folding box first slides over the guide bar 8 which extends up to the transfer position, and then slides off the bar 8. Now a depressing member 27 which operates synchronously with the pivot levers and is arranged on a pivot lever 29 pivotally mounted about an axis of rotation 28 engages the folding box and pushes it out of the receiving pocket and downward onto the conveyor. The conveyor, for example a conveyor chain, is provided with pockets 30 formed between projections 31, 32 arranged at suitable distances from each other on the conveyor. The operation of the conveyor is synchronized with the pivotal movement of the pivot levers 5, 6 such that one pocket 30 is always then at the transfer station when the receiving pocket 5, 6 containing a folding box 1 is also at the transfer station. Extending along the top strand of the conveyor chain 2 is a horizontal guide bar 33 for supporting the bottom of the folding box placed between the projections 31, 32. Below the transfer device the conveyor 2 is reversed by means of a roller 34 journaled about a horizontal axis of rotation 35.

In the exemplary embodiment described in the foregoing the pivot lever 6 has substantially the form of a slide plate which engages the side wall 25 of the folding box located in the rear during the displacement, while the pivot lever 5 supports the front side wall 26 of the box. The pivot lever 6 has at its upper end two contact surfaces 36, 37 which engage the rear side wall 25 of the folding box and are so arranged that the contact surface 36 engages the folding box in the takeover position and the contact surface 37 is disposed about parallel to the contact surface of the pivot lever 5 engaging the front 7 side wall 26 ofthe folding box in the transfer position.

In the takeover position (FIG. 1) the two pivot levers together with the guide bar 8 form a parallelogram-shaped receiving pocket corresponding in shape to the shape of the folding box which in its pre-opened condition is advanced by the suction means 21. The surface of the pivot lever 5 engaging the side wall 26 of the folding box forms in this position an obtuse angle with the guide bar 8 supporting the bottom of the folding box. With the continued pivotal movement of the pivot levers toward the transfer position the angle between the guide bar 8 and the surface of the pivot lever 5 engaging the side wall 26 of the folding box decreases notably and in the transfer position, in which the bottom of the folding box has been moved beyond the region of the guide bar 8, is less than The surface of the pivot lever 6 serving as a slide plate engaging the other side wall of the folding box is-as already described-in conformity with the lever 5, Thus the two pivot levers form a receiving pocket which transits from one paral lelogram position at the takeover station to the opposite parallelogram position at the transfer station. Thereby the folding over of the folding edges for the purpose of eliminating their natural tensions is ensured.

lclaim; v I

l. A device for transferring folding boxes from a storage magazine containing said folding boxes in a pre-opened condition to a conveyor arranged below said magazine and provided with pockets formed between projections for moving said folding boxes to a packaging machine, said device including a pivotally mounted suction device for initiating the transfer of said pre-opened folding boxes from said magazine to said conveyor, a receiver for taking over said folding boxes from said suction device, a guide bar arranged above said conveyor for guiding said folding boxes from said receiver to said pockets in said conveyor, wherein the improvement comprises that said receiver is formed by portions of two pivotally mounted levers whose pivot axes are arranged in spaced parallel relation on opposite sides of said guide bar and spaced therefrom so as to form above said guide bar a receiving pocket, two opposite sides of said pocket being adapted to engage opposite sides of a folded box which is conveyed into said pocket by a pivotal movement of said suction device, and an actuating mechanism including connecting rods operatively connected with said two levers for operating the same in such a manner that when said folded box has been deposited by said suction device in said receiving pocket and placed it upon said guide bar, said levers are caused to pivot about their axes and move said box along said guide bar toward a pocket in said conveyor.

2. A device according to claim 1, including a pivotally mounting depressing member 27 operating in phase with the pivotal movement of said two levers forming said receiving pocket, said depressing member in the transfer position of said folding box pushing said folding box from said receiving pocket and into a pocket 30 ofsaid conveyor.

3. A device according to claim I, in which one of said two pivoted levers which forms one side of said receiving pocket moves from a position forming an obtuse angle with said guide bar through an angle of 90 and into an acute angular position at the point where the box is transferred to the conveyor.

4. A device according to claim 1, in which the length of said pivotally mounted lever engaging one of said sides 26 of said folding box is such that said lever is pivoted from the path of movement of said folding box and slides off from said folding box side wall before said folding box is introduced into a pocket of said conveyor.

5. A device according to claim 1, in which one of said two pivotally mounted levers has such an angular shape that one of its ends is acting as a slide plate, said end being provided with two contact surfaces 36, 37 disposed at an obtuse angle to each other and with a transition therebetween for the purpose of engaging the rear wall 25 of said folding box, one of said 6. A device according to claim 1, in which said actuating mechanism for operating said two pivotally mounted levers is actuated by a crank drive. 

